Tour News

John Pak, college golf’s top player, signs with TaylorMade

Published

2 years ago

Jun 10, 2021

Editor’s note: We filed this piece for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report.

With a buddy on the bag and fresh off receiving the Jack Nicklaus Award in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, celebrated amateur and Florida State standout John Pak is making his professional debut at this week’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree — and he’ll do so as a TaylorMade staffer, the company announced today.

College golf’s top player, Pak has played TaylorMade gear and a Titleist ball since his amateur days. And as we found out from Ryan Ressa, TaylorMade’s player development manager, who has worked with Pak since he was in his early teens, it’s not surprising Pak will continue with the same bag setup and ball combination as he joins the professional ranks.

The Scotch Plains, New Jersey, native is an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of guy when it comes to his equipment, which is a trait Ressa sees among many of the game’s best. (Another TaylorMade staffer Tiger Woods, for one, comes to mind).

Ressa and TaylorMade have had a relationship with Pak for nearly a decade, and it’s Ressa’s job to not only make sure Pak is in the right equipment for his game but is also navigating the matrix of amateur competitions, college, and the decision to turn pro successfully.

According to Ressa, Pak, and other junior standouts, need new equipment, or at least a fitting, roughly every six months as their bodies and swings change.

Even so, while he’s transitioned into new fairway wood models as they’ve become available, the DNA of Pak’s bag has stayed largely the same.

“Jon is a very simple guy when it comes to equipment, and he doesn’t do a lot of tinkering outside of driver shafts,” Ressa said. “Deep down, he’s a great competitor. He just loves to compete and is focused on getting the ball in the hole. He’s stayed really, really consistent with the look of his irons, the loft of his wedges, and his bag setup. He’s been easy to work with and only needs one or two visits per year to get squared away.”

Read the full piece here.

Check out the full WITB here.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2023 WGC-Dell Match Play

Published

2 days ago

Mar 22, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX was on site in Austin for the Dell Technologies Match Play where players had a short week of preparation prior to a long week of play with matches getting underway Wednesday.

As GolfWRXers well know, the tournament’s format is unique in that it is a match play event, meaning that players compete against each other in head-to-head matches rather than the traditional stroke play format. Over the years, the tournament has seen many great champions, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy. Last year, Scottie Scheffler took down Kevin Kisner 4&3 and claimed the $2.1 million winner’s share.

There was plenty to see at Austin Country Club with six WITBs — including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, five general galleries, and several interesting pull-outs — including a look at a pair of Tom Kim’s custom Scotty Cameron putters.

Check out links to all our photos from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2023 Valspar Championship

Published

1 week ago

Mar 15, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is live from the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s challenging Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. Designed by renowned architect Lawrence Packard, the Copperhead is best known for its three-hole finishing stretch called “The Snake Pit,” which bring hazards and high scores into play. The course’s signature hole is the par-3 15th, which requires a precise shot over water to a narrow green that is heavily guarded by bunkers.

Strategic shot-making and careful course management will be of prime importance this week, just as both elements were for our tour photographer in navigating the range and practice green en route to assembling nine general galleries and 14 WITBs — including Akshay Bhatia and Adam Hadwin!

Also: Special thanks to GolfWRXer bvmagic for contributing two galleries this week!

General Albums

WITB Albums

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2023 Players Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

Mar 9, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players Championship, and GolfWRX was on site to get a look at what the players are playing.

With 43 of the top 50 golfers in the world putting a peg in the ground, it’s a stacked field at Pete Dye’s 7,256-yard diabolical masterpiece.

In addition to our usual curation of in-hand photos and practice area shots, we have a cool photo walking tour of the back nine at TPC Sawgrass. If you think you have an appreciation for the angles and sloping at the Stadium Course, you’ll definitely want to check this out.